UFC Fight Night 62's Amanda Nunes: My loss to Cat Zingano was a wakeup call

Amanda Nunes

UFC women’s bantamweight Amanda Nunes said she received a lot of positive feedback for her performance against Cat Zingano, even though the fight didn’t ultimately go her way.

The compliments, however, shadow a tough lesson for Nunes (9-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who might have denied Zingano (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) a chance to vie for champ Ronda Rousey’s title.

“When I saw my chance in the first round, I let everything go, and I couldn’t control myself,” Nunes told MMAjunkie. “If I had paced myself, as in the past, I could have won that fight. But I couldn’t keep it under control.”

Nunes went for a leglock in a frenzied first round with Zingano and wound up exhausting herself when she didn’t get the finish. Zingano rallied and took over the fight in later rounds, pounding out a TKO in the third round.

“I’m changing my training now to address this,” Nune said. “We’re working on my concentration, to be able to perform with a calmer mindset. This had happened before to me, in my previous two losses, to Alexis Davis and Sarah D’Alelio. I felt the same thing. But the loss to Cat was my wakeup call.”

Now, Nunes  embarks on another push toward the title. Her journey begins Saturday with a fight against “The Ultimate Fighter 20? veteran Shayna Baszler (15-9 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 62, which Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanazinho Gym. The fight airs live on FOX Sports 1.

“I am thankful I now know where I erred,” Nunes said. “This last loss also brought something positive to my life. All that’s missing now, aside from my training, is knowing how to deal with my natural fury.”

What Nunes means is the flurry of punches that tend to characterize her fights in the cage. To dial back her aggression, she’s worked on being patient. She’s also switched fight camps, moving to the famed American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla.

Just because she’s touting change, though, it doesn’t mean the expectations of her will do the same.

“Fans usually expect me to win by KO,” Nunes said. “That’s something that follows me. They expect me to win fast, since that’s how I defeated Julia Budd. But for the last three years I’ve been training with the mindset that I can win a fight in any round, whether the first, second or third. I want to do well in every round.

“I was supposed to take my time, last time around. If you see my fight against Germaine de Randamie, that’s roughly how it should have been. I should have attacked, but at the same time, waited for the right moment. If I had faced Cat with the same mindset as when I fought Germaine or Sheila Gaff, without a doubt, I would have won in the first round.”

Nunes said the “lost” herself over her past mistakes and is aiming to put them behind her with a win over Baszler.

“I believe in being ready to win by knockout or submission in any round,” she said.

For more on UFC Fight Night 62, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.